with PGA Tour potential. I can’t really say why Brooks stood out among them, but he did.” Golf professionals Mary-Lee Cobick and Donna White have strong memories of young Brooks playing at Okeeheelee. “He had a passion for golf and his work ethic stood out,” recalled White. “He loved to compete, and he played lots of golf at Okeeheelee. He and his brother would play, play, play all day. He was always a serious player.” “Brooks was the young man you saw arrive first in the morning and was the last to leave at night,” remembered Cobick. “Brooks played and worked on his short game all was playing cards or sports,” added Bob Koepka. “It was up to them to either physically or mentally rise up to the challenge.” Brooks Koepka has certainly risen to many golf challenges in the most-recent past. Don’t be surprised to see him win a third U.S. Open title at The Country Club in June. With a third U.S. Open win, he would join a very exclusive club. Only Anderson, Bobby Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Woods have won three U.S. Opens. day long. People talk about his power, but his short game and putting are incredible! He was so competitive and always wanted to ‘play a game’ against anyone and everyone that would be around the clubhouse. It always amazes me now to watch him ‘pull off’ all the difficult shots around the green in tournaments in the last final holes. It’s as if I’m watching him all over again from the Okeeheelee Golf shop window years ago.” Bob Koepka also taught his two sons that winning at anything doesn’t just happen. It requires focus and determination. “I always made the boys figure out how to win at anything and never let them win whether it Indiana Golf Journal
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